The Great Loves
by BetaReject
Summary: A series of AU drabbles pertaining to the women Thrawn may/could have been involved throughout his life.


**The Admiral**

She was his first and he would never forget her. She was the perfect balance of passion and control. At times, it was difficult to keep up with her and the boundless energy she exuded. It was easy to forget she was ten years his senior.

Lust was a new sensation to him. It was blinding and all consuming, like the storms of their passion play. Together they succumbed to the needs of the flesh, while his mind tried to convince itself that it was real.

He loved the fiery side of her that so few ever witnessed. In the end, the fire was all that he loved.

She introduced him to his greatest love, art. In turn, he introduced her to the man who one day would become her husband.

The flame of passion always burns brightest before it burns out. She became an admiral within the Defence Hierarchy. He became the youngest force commander in the Expansionary Fleet.

They never saw eye to eye again.

**The Artist**

Her art swept him away. Its beauty held a weight of its own. It left him breathless and longing for more. She revealed a part of him that he never knew existed.

With her, words were not necessary. Some times hours would be spent in silence. Her lithe fingers lightly wrapped around brushes that danced over a polished surface, while the symphony played its graceful notes on the audio-recorder.

In silence, he watched as she poured out her emotions and so much more onto the canvas. If paintings told a story, he could not fully understand it. The feelings it invoked within him were not shared.

She loved him because society considered him a _radical. _ He thought he loved her for her person. What he truly loved was her art.

It was over before they could even begin.

** The Idealist**

She was the perfect contradiction; refreshingly naïve, yet seasoned. She was an idealist who was not entirely certain of her ideals. He mistook her for an empty-headed fool. She mistook him for a man of honour.

Cultural complication and language barriers aside, the alien woman took him to a place that he never knew existed.

Long hours spent learning each other's language; taught them more about one another.

She shared with him the finer aspects of stargazing. He shared his love of the arts.

The young commander told himself she was nothing more than a means to an end. She told herself that she wanted to embrace an ideal, a living testament to legends of old. Embracing these little lies allowed him to evade the truth.

They both got what they wanted, and in the end, their destinies took them down separate paths.

He was never the same.

**The Rebel**

They never met person; a part of him hoped he never would. A more worthy opponent he could not have desired.

She was clever, quick-witted, a tactical genius whose skills rivalled his own. Their battles were as swift as they were complicated. He would not have it any other way.

Through their attacks, they would flirt. Through their tactics, they would dance. The sound of laser shots and ships tearing at each other in space became their exchange of pleasantries.

Without her, the admiral knew the resistance she served would not have last, or was it the Alliance who served her?

Hours spent studying the art of her people revealed nothing of her mind. Music too, did little to unveil the mystery of the infamous former Naboo senator. The admiral knew as much about her as the galaxy knew about him.

In another time, another place she would have been the perfect mate, or at least a fine lover. However, she was the enemy and so he denied all such thoughts.

It did not stop the thrill of anticipation from running down his spine whenever he heard her voice over the rare intercepted messages.

**The Sanctuary**

She was not the idealistic, naïve woman he once knew. He never was the noble soldier she believed him to be.

The empire's rise to power placed them on opposing sides, like sabacc players facing one another in some great galactic challenge.

She knew his unspoken regrets. He knew of her broken dreams. There was no judgement found in her eyes. Only silent acceptance that the _boy_ she once knew was long gone.

The grand admiral believed everything would change between them. In the end, nothing had, save the lines of age in the corner of his eyes and the weight of her gaze.

Now they stood side by side watching the stars in perfect silence. His hands were carefully kept to themselves, his eyes focussed ahead, allowing him to face the truth with a clear mind.

He accepted it in his usual stoic manner.

With a hint of a smile on his lips, he caught her gaze. The unspoken words exchanged revealed answers they knew all along but could not acknowledge.

His fingers slipped to the small of her back. She gave a soft sigh of contentment in reply.

There was no turning back now. He would not have it any other way.


End file.
